Could someone please help me out to feed a family of 7 fast and cheap?

Question

We eat really well for about 125.00 dollars a week not including the 4 gals of milk every 2 days but I would like some new foods. I do not eat anything with cooked tomatoe sauce. I am sick of our stand bys of Fettachini alfredo and veg lasagna ham and augrauten pots. Beef is so expensive. I need new recipies PLEASE

Answer 1

Some rice cooked with a little lemon zest accompanied by a simple stew or curry, you can use either veg or meat. Makes sure the sauce is thick and tasty. If you want some idea's on the types of curries or stews just let us know.

Good luck

Answer 2

For one thing, you're much better off cooking from scratch -- or at least mostly from scratch -- both economically and health-wise. I'm single and feed myself for under $20.- a week, so my ideas might work for you. Shop bargains; I decide what I'm going to eat this coming week based largely on what the stores have on sale. Watch the sales. Eat veggies and fruits that are in season; that's when they cost the least. Use as few commercially-prepared items as possible. Use a slow cooker if you have one or can find one secondhand somewhere. Use ground turkey instead of ground beef. If you get the ground dark meat (or mainly dark meat) it's really hard to tell the difference once you get the spaghetti sauce or sloppy joe sauce on it. Honest! Save the ground beef for the occasional hamburger night. Use plenty of chicken. Buy a whole one and cook it. You may be able to get two meals out of it if you make two casseroles (or a casserole and a soup) with it. Go to Google or Dogpile and search for "budget family recipe ideas." You'll be surprised at how many other moms also need this info, so there's lots of it available.

Answer 3

This is a favorite recipe my Mom still cooks and I cook frequently.

Chicken thighs and drumsticks
(season the chicken with McCormick chicken seasoning and a little garlic)
one red and one green pepper
one onion
3 jars of chicken gravy

Saute the chicken in a large pot with the onions and peppers (leave skin on) for about an hour, stir occasionally while its cooking (the steam cooks the chicken from the inside out)
(leaving the skin on while it cooks gives it flavor)
make sure pot is covered

Check the chicken for tenderness and then remove the skin from all the chicken

place chicken back in pot, add gravy and let simmer for about hour, 15 minutes (cover)

Serve with rice or noodles (my husband and son prefer the noodles, I like the rice)

hot biscuits are a nice compliment

Great dish, your family will love it!!

2nd recipe

Buy two or more boxes of Lipton pasta side dishes
add cut up chicken in cubes or slices
add frozen vegetables

when pasta is done, add the chicken and vegetables,
toss and serve hot, Delicious!!!

Answer 4

Chicken. Chicken is very versatile and more cheaper then steaks and beef. You can make grilled chicken, fried chicken, cut up chicken sandwiches, or chicken salad.
Purchase Tuna Fish. It's usually 99 cents a can and you can have tuna salad, tuna sandwiches, tuna with crackers, or Tuna Helper.
Buy Pasta Sides/Rice Sides. They are usually a dollar a piece and have a variety of types (chicken & broccoli rice, spanish rice, alfredo pasta, stroganoff pasta, butter noodles, etc).
Buy plenty of Mac&Cheese because the generic brand is usually 88 cents and sometimes Kraft has good sales on it.
You'll want to get plenty of vegetables.. generic brands are usually a dollar a piece. You'll want to get canned corn, carrots, peas, mixed veggies.. you can also buy a frozen bag with cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots.
Buy a bag of salad and some dressing.
You can also get generic cereal for pretty cheap as well.
I like to buy BBQ chicken breast lunch meat. It's so delicious on rolls. If you catch it on sale, buy a pound of it.. it goes well for dinner.
Also, you can buy the minute steaks because you can cook the minute steak and cut it up and put in gravy or make a cheese steak with it.
When in a rut, remember that can food is your savior. Canned chili, spam, canned raviolis, canned spaghetti & meatballs, spagehttios, etc are all helpful and usually inexpensive.
Also, spam is versatile. You can fry it or serve it cold.. you can have it with eggs or you an have it on toasted bread.
Make sure you buy eggs because you can make egg salad, boiled eggs, or breakfast eggs like scrambled, etc.

Answer 5

Shepherd's Pie (ground beef is cheap)

Make a pot of mashed potatoes, put it to the side.

Brown 1 lb of hamburger meat with some diced onion, drain the fat.

In a 9X13 pan put a thin layer of mashed potatoes, your ground beef, a couple cans of corn (I like to mix creamed and niblet) or use frozen. Put another layer of potatoes to top off the pan. Brush a little egg white and sprinkle paprika on top. Bake in oven until warmed through and top is golden.

Sounds plain but it is a major comfort food for us, cheap to make and my 12 year old son's favorite meal.

Answer 6

******************STEAK DINNER IN A DISH FOR SIX
1 - 1/2 lbs. top sirloin steak, cubed
2 lg. onions, sliced
3-4 potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sour cream
1 1/2 c. milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1 c. grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 c. crushed potato chips
Brown onions and meat in 2 tablespoons oil. Add 1 cup water and simmer for 50- 60 minutes.
Pour into 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Place potato slices over meat. Blend soup, sour cream, milk, salt and pepper. Pour over potato meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and chips. Bake, uncovered in 350 F. oven for 1 1/2 hours or until done.

******POLISH SAUSAGE BAKE
1 pkg. Polish sausage
6 potatoes
1 onion
2 cans green beans
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
Cut Polish sausage down the center lengthwise. Then cut into slices. Peel potatoes and cut them up. Chop the onion. Put all the ingredients into a large baking pan. Put the green beans and juice in pan. Add the two cans cream of mushroom soup. Stir it all up well. Add a little salt and pepper. Bake at 375 degrees until potatoes are done.

Answer 7

heres a couple of my family favs.
-Smoked sausage and pepper bake.
Take smoked sausage, green peppers, potatos, carrots, garlic and onions. Chop all into bite size pieces and toss with a little olive oil and whatever herbs you like. Put in a baking dish, cover with foil and bake at about 375 for 45 minutes or until veggies are cooked. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 5 more minutes until melted. This is really yummy, the sausage onions and garlic flavor everything. Ive also added zuchini. I just use whatever I have.
-Cheesy meatloaf
Mix up a lb or 2 od gr chicken with italian seasonings, bread crumbs, parm cheese and eggs.
Take 4 string cheese sticks and form the meatloaf around the cheese and bake.
When you cut into it, the cheese pours out. You can use any meatloaf recipe, I just like the chicken.
-cheesy meatballs
as above, mix gr meat with bread crumbs, parm cheese, eggs and seasonings of choice. Cut cheese sticks into bite size pieces and form meatballs around. be sure to seal.
brown in a frying pan. I usually add tomato sauce and simmer for about 20 minutes but you could use cr of mushroom soup or whatever sauce you prefer. These are really good and a surprise for the kiddos.
-Chicken quessedillas(sic)
cook chicken breasts, thighs or whatever in a crock pot with taco seasoning and some salsa, shred and spread on tortillas, add cheese and cover with 2nd tortilla. Grill in frying pan until golden, flip and repeat. yum

Answer 8

Beef that is pre-processed is always expensive - try getting a larger piece (like a 25-30lb tritip) and cube, slice, grind, etc yourself you can save about $3 per pound and have a great variety on hand for recipes. Learn to use Tofu ($0.98lb) to make vegetable terrines, soups and even ice cream - it is a great protein, cheap and naturally low fat (there are great recipe books at the library). If you have a yard plant veggies in the spring and can them in the fall (enjoy fresh as they ripen) - if not get a variety of indoor friendly fruit bearing plants like a tomato tree or dwarf fruit trees (bonus since they grow them themselves kids are more receptive to eating them). Experiment with Chinese, Japanese and other Asian foods - they are easy and cheap to make since they use a good deal of dark meat chicken and lower end cuts of pork as well as lots of fresh veggies. Another great cuisine choice is Mediterranean (cous-cous, falafel, pita sandwiches) and again lots of vegetable choices. I find exploring the world through food can be a delightful way to introduce a new culture as well as add variety to your everyday meals. Good Luck!

Answer 9

A favorite with my kids that we usually just make out of leftovers isn't really a by-the-book recipe but just something we toss together.

We have chicken usually one night a week and we have turkey another night. So we toss some chunks of those meats (one or both depending on what we've got left) into a baking dish, then we add soup (cream of...whatever we have on hand) and mix it together, then we sometimes mix cheese in with it, sometimes rice also. We cook egg noodles (no flavoring added) and put that on top of the meat mixture, then crush corn flakes or bread crumbs over the top, bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or so, and that leftover dish will usually last us a couple of days.

Also, try checking out http://allrecipes.com/search/ingredients.aspx where you can type in what you do like to eat and what you don't like to eat and they can offer you some great recipe ideas! :)

Answer 10

Chili can be quick and inexpensive. I get 1 of those economy size can of beans for about $3 + a package of chili mix for $1.50 + 1 can diced green chili's for 69 cents and mix then together or a tasty chili that you can have with chips, hot dogs, cornbread,indian bread, etc. Voila`. A meal for my 7 for about $6.
Vegetable Stir fry
4 bags frozen stir fry vegetables ($4.50)
2/3 cup soy sauce or soy sauce substitute
5 TBSP/ 2.5 fluid ounces minced ginger
3TBSP minced garlic
Place sauce, garlic and ginger in a pan and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add vegetables and cook till heated through (about 7 minutes). Serve over rice.
(This recipe can be altered with 2 pounds of sliced, cooked chicken or beef.)